Video: 2012 NHL Combine – Brian Hart, Phillips Exeter Academy

By Ken McKenna

June 10th, 2012

Photo: New England prep school star Brian Hart excelled at both hockey and soccer for Phillips Exeter Academy (courtesy of Ken McKenna/HF)

Being good at one sport is difficult enough, but excelling at two sports while maintaining a solid academic record is a feat rarely achieved by younger athletes. But that is what Phillips Exeter Academy star Brian Hart accomplished during the 2011-12 school year, which has the Cumberland, Maine native looking at a very bright future.

Hart spent the fall starring for Exeter's varsity soccer team, scoring 35 goals and adding 13 assist in 20 games for that school. Exeter lost in the semi-finals of the New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC), but Hart brought home some hardware that included the NEPSAC Class A MVP award as well as being named the Gatorade New Hampshire Boys Soccer Player of the Year by ESPN. Hart also landed on the Boston Globe's All-Scholastic team, highlighting his good work in the classroom.

In the winter, Hart traded in his soccer cleats for ice skates and proceeded to turn in a fine offensive season for Exeter's varsity hockey squad. The big forward netted 31 goals and added 34 assists for 65 points as he helped his team to reach the semi-finals of the Stuart/Corkery Tournament, where Exeter fell to Chris Calnan's Nobles squad, 5-3. Hart was named a team co-MVP for his efforts during the 2011-12 season.

And, as if all of that wasn't enough, Hart has committed to attend Harvard University in the fall of 2012. Indeed, the talented Hart seems to have all the bases covered.

But the focus in the near term for the budding power forward is the 2012 NHL Draft. Hart's stock has risen steadily over the course of the season, to the point where he is viewed as a sleeper pick heading into the draft.

Hart spoke with Hockey's Future at the 2012 NHL Combine, which is presented in the video below.